page_title: Currency detector
section_title: Banknote acceptors
hierarchical_section_title: Currency detector / Banknote acceptors
caption_attribution_description: A United States dollar bill passing through a typical United States bill validator with a green bezel.
context_page_description: A currency detector or currency validator is a device that determines whether notes or coins are genuine or counterfeit. These devices are used in a wide range of automated machines, such as retail kiosks, supermarket self checkout machines, arcade gaming machines, payphones, launderette washing machines, car park ticket machines, automatic fare collection machines, public transport ticket machines, and vending machines.
  The process involves examining the coins and/or notes that have been inserted into the machine, and conducts various tests to determine if the currency is counterfeit. Because the parameters are different for each coin or note, these currency acceptors must be correctly programmed for each item to be accepted.
  In normal operation, if any item such as a coin, banknote, card or ticket is accepted, it is retained within the machine and it falls into a storage container to allow a member of staff to collect it later when emptying the machine. If the item is rejected, the machine returns the item to the customer. If a coin is rejected, it usually falls into a tray or rolls out of a slot at the bottom where the customer can remove the coin.
context_section_description: Also known as validators or acceptors, paper currency detectors scan paper currency using optical and magnetic sensors.  Upon validation, the validator will inform the vending machine controller (VMC) or other host device of a credit via a parallel or serial interface. Various interfaces exist for the host device, including a single-line pulse interface, a multi-line parallel interface, a multi-line binary interface, and serial interfaces such as ccTalk, SSP, and MDB. Wrinkled or creased notes can cause these machines to reject them.
  There are currently only a handful of companies manufacturing this equipment. Crane Payment Innovations (joining Crane Payment Solutions and MEI), and Japan Cash Machine (JCM) are two of the largest, each maintaining dominance in a particular market segment. Other notable companies producing this type of equipment include Coinco, Pyramid Technologies, Inc. (PTI), International Currency Technologies (ICT), Alpha CMS (Cash Management Solutions), Astrosys, Pyramid Technologies, Validation Technologies International (VTI), Innovative Technology Ltd (ITL), Global Payment Technologies (GPT) and Jofemar.
  Recent innovations include remote auditing and reporting by these devices as part of an Automated Cash Handling network for entertainment, banking, retail, casino and other industries.
caption: An American banknote passing through the device.  Note the pistons that grab it when it detects an insert.
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